


A Different Way of Seeing Things

by Night Vale Community Radio Intern Tien (Tien)



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:21:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/981046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tien/pseuds/Night%20Vale%20Community%20Radio%20Intern%20Tien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil has odd quirks that Carlos notices but can't figure out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Way of Seeing Things

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a Welcome to Night Vale fic.
> 
> It's also nearing the ass crack of dawn and I should probably be in bed.  
> I think I need to work on pacing, this one feels rushed, too rushed at the end. I hope to get back at it and flesh out some stuff over the weekend.
> 
> Anyways, I hope this isn't too bad...I'm so intimidated by all the awesome writers for this fandom. Seriously, everyone is amazing and it's scary to have to compete against all the greatness here.

Fingers glide over the morning news, a seat is adjusted and a microphone is positioned just right. A low melodic voice of a man fills the room during the sound check and a single phone is placed neatly to the side on vibrate. Someone bright and yellow entered the room cheerily saying, “Good morning Mr. Baldwin, here is your coffee.”

“Ah, thank you Erin,” the man now revealed to be Cecil, the Voice of Night Vale, says pleasantly while taking a sip from the hot mug. “Perfect as always.”

Erin smiles and returns to the sound booth, “We start in five Mr. Baldwin, I’ll give you a chance to go through the news.”

Soon enough the red light switches to green and the broadcast can start.

“Everything seen by someone can be seen by another quite differently, welcome to Night Vale.” He continues going through the day’s newest reports. “There’s a shortage of water today in Night Vale the City Council reports. They urge everyone to reduce their consumption of this optional resource. If you feel the need to drink water think about things you could be doing instead of taking that big gulp. For example, you could be playing with the kids, or finishing that neglected puzzle, perhaps you should imitate the motions of drinking water while imaging the feel of this cool liquid cascading down your parched throat. Remember Night Vale, nothing is more powerful than your imagination, which is why, along with water, you should use it sparingly.”

“…And this is why tarantulas make horrible house guests. It seems like we have reached the end of the morning news, the evening news starts at six and like always, one of our lovely interns will do the midafternoon update.”

The light switched back to red and the intern Erin walked in again, “Oh, Cecil, Sir, I found this outside your booth,” Cecil looked up and offered a grateful smile.

“Thank you; I was wondering where I left that.”

The yellow flickered to orange briefly and a reply was heard, “You really should avoid just leaving that around the station.” Carefully Erin placed the object in Cecil’s hand. It was a long smooth cane. The sides were painted black with purple swirling tentacles that reached to the top where a carved purple eye rested. “I’d hate to see it broken, it’s so beautiful.”

He ran a finger down the stick and nodded, “Yes that would be a shame. Oh Erin?” He asked abruptly, “I had a meeting today didn’t I? You never specified who though, I hope it’s not the Sheriff’s Secret Police again, I can only go through so many re-educations. Sheesh.”

“Oh, no, it’s not them. I didn’t want to tell you right away because you do that thing…whenever this person’s name is mentioned.” 

A caramel voice broke into the conversation and Cecil turned his head to the entrance of the recording booth. It was so familiar, the sight of him. All swirling deep, calming, blues and even deeper purples. Cecil’s heart leapt a bit at the words the newcomer spoke. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“Carlos!” Cecil said, not quite sure what his voice just did. It spluttered a few octaves higher than it usually goes.

“Ah, Cecil, hello, I haven’t had a chance to properly introduce myself to you.” Erin backed away to let the two men step closer. Cecil practically tumbled out of his chair in excitement. “I’m Carlos, as you know.” He held a hand out for Cecil to shake.

Instead Cecil moved right past the arm and just said, “Carlos! Can you believe it Erin? Carlos, the scientist, in my studio! Oh happy days!” He tried to regain his composure but it was simply impossible. “I’m uh, Cecil! You know, the reporter! Oh my you are even more perfect in person, I knew I was right about you. I’m never wrong about people you know; I’m always spot on, perfect judgment. And you, you are fabulous. Oh I’ve never seen such an amazing shade of blue.”

“I don’t…” Carlos started to ask but didn’t, sometimes things are better left un-asked. Cecil was just as quirky and as weird as he had imagined him. A tad taller than he had thought but by no means did Cecil tower over anybody. His skin was oddly pale for the desert town he resided in and besides the third eye poking out from blond bangs he looked completely human. Carlos was never one to judge the people of Night Vale based on their appearance, after seeing a two headed boy on the football team and a five headed dragon being hauled down to city hall the scientist decided it would be easier to accept these things instead of committing them to deep thought.

“So Carlos,” then he said a bit softer, “oh gosh Carlos,” before continuing, “what did you have to talk to me about?”

“Oh yes, I suppose I should get to the point, shall we take a walk?” He watched Cecil nod and added, “I like to walk and talk, it’s a bad habit of mine.”

“It is no problem Carlos, perfect Carlos, if you want to walk I’ll be more than happy to do a moving interview.” Carlos watched as Cecil turned around and grabbed a smooth black cane from his desk side and eagerly awaited Carlos to make the first move. “Where shall we walk to, beautiful Carlos?”

In the great city of Night Vale there were many places to walk to and from. But mostly there was just a lot of sand. The pair ended up talking about time and how Carlos believes it doesn’t exist in Night Vale. “Or at least, I’m hypothesizing that it doesn’t follow the correct rules and boundaries as time in other parts of the world does. Is this making any sense? I feel like I’m losing my mind in this town.”

Cecil nodded, “Oh yes, it makes perfect sense.”

“I mean, have you ever actually seen a clock Cecil? In Night Vale. Have you seen one that works?”

“I can’t say that I have,” He replied.

Carlos let out an exasperated huff, “Exactly! How am I even supposed to begin to do calculations when all the clocks are turning up fake? Even the damn clock tower is fake Cecil!”

“Whoa slow down there Carlos, the clock tower is real,” Carlos gave him a look that was both doubtful and hopeful for an explanation. “It’s just invisible and teleports a lot. That’s all. Just because something teleports and is invisible doesn’t mean it’s not real. Think about it Carlos, just because you couldn’t see something, does that make it any less real? Someone else could be viewing that same item that remains hidden from your perspective. To them it’s real, but to you it’s not. Doesn’t seem fair to the invisible object now, does it?”

More frustrated sounds came from Carlos before he gave up, defeated by Night Vale logic. “Hey,” Cecil continued, “Not everybody understands complex architecture. I’m sure you’re way too busy with all the smart science things you do to bother with learning about basic Night Vale architecture.”

Sighing Carlos just asked, “Well, I just need you to ask the good citizens here if they’ve ever seen a working clock. Could you ask them to send one over or possibly meet with me to talk about it? I’d like to get a hold of the mayor but she’s been out of town the past week…is she ok Cecil?”

“Hmm? Oh the mayor? Yeah she’s recovering from throat spiders. Seems she caught them from someone recently. I think it was actually one of the topics in today’s late night news report.”

“When do you think she’ll be returning?”

“Hmmmmm,” Cecil thought for a few seconds, “well a typical case of throat spiders usually takes a month to clear up. But the mayor has always been good about returning to work, she should be in her office by late this week. Carlos I could have told you all this if you’d just wait a few hours.”

“Could you set up an appointment with her when she gets back, please Cecil,” he added to sound less demanding.

The reporter gasped, “Oh no! Heavens no! You must not see the mayor right away. No one must see the mayor right away,” Cecil could tell by the lack of response and the cool green shift in color that Carlos didn’t understand. “See throat spiders are still highly contagious during that time. They shoot out their egg sacs and baby spiders during the treatment phase. It’s probably the point in time where they are most highly contracted by others. So I couldn’t possibly allow you to go see her.”

“R-Right how could I have forgotten something so important,” Carlos took out a small notepad from his back pocket and jotted down a few notes. “Well, then just I don’t know any more Cecil. Let me know when she’s not contagious then.”

“Oh of course beautiful Carlos,” Cecil’s phone decided to interrupt their conversation by buzzing and saying in a very electronic voice, “Lunch and meeting with John Peters, you know the farmer, in five minutes.” “Oh my, it looks like I should be heading off, I forgot I was supposed to meet and have some imaginary corn. My dearest apologies Carlos, perhaps we can meet another day?” 

“I’m not sure if that will be necessary, just make sure that the news gets out ok?” Carlos waved but noticed Cecil did not return it, “Perhaps waving is a form of disrespect in Night Vale…” He jotted down some more notes, “I’ll be sure to be more careful.”

“And so I call upon you, great citizens of Night Vale to please help Carlos with his investigation. If you have any working clocks I ask you to donate them for the good of the scientific community. I suggest giving your alarm clock to dear, sweet, Carlos on the weekend when you have no need of its slight moaning to alert you to the sun coming up.”

“Oh! That reminds me, so earlier today when I was meeting with Carlos, our towns most beautiful and intelligent scientist, I proposed that we get together to talk again! He didn’t say no dear listeners, instead he turned a delightful shade of lavender and said ‘I’m not sure if that will be necessary’. Now, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a no, listeners, it wasn’t a yes either, but it definitely wasn’t a no. I, along with you, shall eagerly await more news of his findings on time.”

Time, like all things in Night Vale existed on a thin line balancing from reality to imagination. Sometimes time would dip too far to one side and become lost, thus causing the sun to set late, or say the entire day of Wednesday needing to be skipped over. Carlos was unable to grasp quite what it meant. One moment he would be so close to break though only to watch it slip through his fingers as Monday lasted four hours longer than it should have.

He wasn’t even sure if Night Vale was still technically in the same year as the rest of the world. He would have to ask Cecil for the actual date the next they met for coffee. Cecil had become a topic of high interest for the scientist. The reporters activities and knowledge were very curious and Cecil always seemed more than willing to share something about Night Vale’s past, as long the Secret Police weren’t nearby, which they always were. Every once in a while however, Cecil would explain something to him, and more often than not, that explanation was far more confusing.

There was quirkiness to Cecil that mirrored the quirkiness of Night Vale and the strangeness of all its people. Carlos noticed that many of the citizens had odd habits and behaviors. For a long while he tried to categorize and take detailed notes on everybody in the small town, but that soon proved to be quite impossible after the third notebook was filled halfway. He hadn’t even begun to scrape the surface of Night Vale’s bizarreness. But he did decide to start with Cecil.

Cecil, being the Voice of Night Vale, was a very popular guy around town. People seemed to know when he would be making an appearance and appeared to go out of their way to be friendly and polite to him. Carlos couldn’t help but wonder just what made Cecil so important to the city, and what made the others respect him with a twinge of fear. He hadn’t dared to ask. He did however; invite Cecil to a few more meetings over coffee. The man sure did love his coffee. 

Over the course of these meetings that were spread out over several weeks Carlos began documenting some things about Cecil. First he noted that he always carried that long cane with him wherever he went. Though he never saw Cecil use it. He figured it was just a favorite accessory, or a tool to rest a leg with, perhaps from an old injury. He’d have to ask about it later. Other curious things to note were that Cecil never responded to gestures, whether they be a hand shake or a simple wave. Though, Cecil wasn’t the only Night Vale citizen to not react to simple body language. Apparently Big Rico is never to be waved at; if you do he starts vibrating and shrieking. Sometimes when they are talking Cecil’s light purple eyes drift off or stare at nothing in particular. Cecil himself is completely focused on what Carlos is saying though, even if his eyes aren’t all looking at the same thing. Carlos wonders if those eyes are seeing something far away, perhaps the news that has yet to happen. How Cecil seemed to always be ahead of the news was amazing to Carlos. There had to be some rigging in Station Management, or perhaps Cecil was somehow stranger than he appeared.

“Cecil, hello, I’m calling for professional reasons. Would you be interested in meeting me by the library? Perhaps on Thursday? I need a book, but I’m not too fond of what you’ve been saying about the library. I could use some company.”

“Did you hear that listeners? A date!” Although Cecil would have preferred a much better location. His phone buzzed shortly after the anouncment with a text. The phone read the text out loud, “It’s not a date Cecil.” “Well darn listeners, not this time. But there will always be more times. Plenty more times stretch out before us. Each one is a chance to broaden your horizons, or perhaps close them a bit in sheer terror of all that you do not know. I do not pretend to predict what tomorrow brings, that is a time left for discovery. What I do know is that the sun will rise after the moon falls, and you will most likely awake after you sleep. Good night Night Vale, good night.”

There was a nervous air around the station the day that Carlos was supposed to show up to get Cecil. Many of the interns did not like the idea of their precious Voice leaving for somewhere so dangerous. They were aware that Cecil got the proper clearance from Station Management in case he ended up missing the late night broadcast. A loud shriek could be heard coming from behind the door and Cecil shrugged and wrote another message to them in blood promising that he’d fulfill his duties no matter what happened, even if he was half dead. The Management seemed to be fine with his proposal of working triple shifts for the next week if he missed the night news. But what made the interns concerned was not for his fate with Station Management, they knew the contract between the Voice and the radio was extensive, they feared for Cecil’s safety for he did not get any librarian repellent nor was he taking any weapons. This was regarded by many to be a stupid move on the Voice’s part. 

They feared for Cecil’s livelihood, they weren’t opposed to having a mutilated body run the news, but it would be a bit gruesome to look at, what with all the gore and organs hanging out. The interns did not like this risk, all for a silly scientist with perfect hair. But try as they might Cecil was not backing down on his decision to meet with the scientist and go look for books.

Carlos was just as nervous as the interns at the station about how the day might proceed. He tried not to think about the looming doom behind the walls of the library as he walked to meet Cecil at the station. He tried to leave his lab at a time that would get him there precisely at the end of the broadcast, but reality must have shifted again because Cecil was not outside waiting. Instead Carlos decided to brave the inside of the station and go look for him. The building always seemed creepy to him, possibly because of the screeching or howling coming from the upper floors.

The light above Cecil’s room was still on so he knocked gently on the door to the sound room door and opened it. One of the interns was inside, a bright cheery looking girl with her hair done up in a ponytail and her uniform only slightly stained with blood. Carlos remembered her from a few weeks ago. “Oh, hello Carlos,” she said eyes turning away from Cecil, “you’re here early, Mr. Baldwin is just finishing up.”

Carlos stepped inside and closed the door softly. He was going to greet her, but his eyes instead were drawn to Cecil. Something told him not to look away, something pulled his eyes to focus on the man behind the microphone. It wasn’t like Carlos had never seen Cecil before, he had seen the man many, many times. This time something was different, something felt different, and he couldn’t place it.

He watched as Cecil would speak into the microphone, his voice deep and cool and mysterious, it made his hair stand on end, even the perfect parts. All three of Cecil’s eyes were closed and he moved through the news as if he had it memorized.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Erin asked.

“Y-Yeah…” he trailed off, watching the smooth shifts in facial expressions that the town would never see. There was a way Cecil commanded language that seemed so perfect, it was no wonder he could turn a whole city against one single person. Carlos didn’t doubt for a second that Cecil could wreak havoc with only his voice. “How does he…” he trailed off when his question had been answered.

Carlos had always prided himself in his observation skills, but he clearly needed work after this latest discovery. As we watched Cecil deliver his lines, he wondered how the man could speak so quickly without looking at the paper that was in front him. That’s when Carlos noticed the fingers moving quickly over the page. Things became clearer about Cecil in that one moment. The small things that Carlos filed away under ‘Night Vale charm’ suddenly had an explanation.

The idea was confirmed when the on air light went dark and Carlos was able to open the door and step inside. Upon hearing his footsteps Cecil looked up and over to where Carlos was standing. But all three eyes were staring at a point just to the left of the other man. “Cecil, you…you’re blind?”

All three eyes widened a bit and Cecil chuckled, “Well of course dear Carlos. Didn’t you know? I make no point in hiding anything.” Cecil watched Carlos flicker to a green hue, “Is…is the news truly that shocking? I’m sorry.”

“No!” Carlos said almost a little too quickly. “No, no it’s quite alright. I don’t mind, I was just confused. You hide it well.”

Cecil shrugged and got up, “So, shall we go? I sorta promised Station Management I’d be back before the nightly news. That should give us a few hours to safely navigate the public library.”

“Oh yes, of course Cecil,” Carlos moved out of the way as Cecil walked passed, he noted that Cecil carried a different cane this time. It was longer, and almost a solid purple, the tip was black and it had no decorative markings, unlike the other one.

“So beautiful Carlos, what scientific endeavors need completing at the library?”

“I need a book on the history of Night Vale, it’s very important.”

Cecil frowned, “Didn’t you listen to my broadcast? I did a whole show dedicated to the history of our fine little town.” He seemed a bit dejected.

“I listened to it Cecil, but afterwards I was left with more questions than answers. That’s all. I wanted to clear some things up. I know the secret police don’t like citizens knowing too much about the past-“

“City Council,” Cecil interjected.

“What?”

“City Council doesn’t like it when the people know too much,” Cecil corrected.

Carlos rubbed the back of his head, “Oh, well, then I know City Council doesn’t like the average person knowing about the history, but I figured the one place that might have some information would be library. It doesn’t seem to be frequented by many, especially since the construction of the front entrance.”

“Yeah,” Cecil sighed a little, “I almost miss waking up in the halls of the library; it was such a nice way to remind a person to do some reading.”

“Ha,” Carlos responded trying to pretend that it would be in fact fun, even great, to wake up trapped in a building filled with potential monsters. “I guess it would be pretty interesting. I would have preferred to do some research on the teleportation mechanism that allowed people inside, but that’ll have to wait.”

Cecil offered up, “You could always investigate Subway; they use a similar technique I believe.”

Soon the pair reached the Night Vale Public Library. “Well, here we are,” Carlos said under his breath.

“Uh huh,” Cecil agreed. Carlos held the door open and Cecil entered first, taking out his cane and sweeping it in front of him. He could tell Carlos’s eyes were on him, “I uh, I don’t go in here often, so I don’t actually know where I’m going.”

“You mean to tell me that that cane is for show?”

“Mostly,” he dismissed anymore of Carlos’s questions and instead focused on the task at hand. “Listen perfect Carlos, we can talk about anything you would like in the days following this, provided we can stay alive.”

Carlos gave a nod out of habit and swallowed. He had never actually seen a librarian; there was much he did not know about Night Vale and its more dangerous inhabitants. The building was dark, far darker than a library should be. On the wall were a few discarded posters, one of them sporting an old catch phrase. “Climb into a good book and lose your soul…” Catchy, Carlos mumbled. “Hey Cecil, it looks like everything is still under construction. When did you say they were supposed to be done with the renovations?”

“I didn’t,” Cecil said grimly. He walked boldly forward trying to piece together anything that made sense. He could only see humans, as frustrated as that was. The library was just a quiet dark spot, and it was rather unnerving. “I just said they were renovating it, I never said when or if they’d ever finish it.” Carlos’s blue shape moved in front of Cecil, “Do you have an idea of where you’re going?”

“No,” he admitted. “But I think there’s a map over here on the counter. I’m going to go check it out.”

“Be careful,” Cecil offered.

Carlos nodded again and walked calmly to the large semicircle counter in the middle of the library. He passed a sign that read, “Quiet Zone, No Talking”. On the desk there were several small pamphlets and a tiny directory of the stacks. He ran a finger over the map to brush off some of the layers of dirt. The library seemed to be organized in rows along the walls with a small section off to the right for children. This area was visibly different due mainly to the lower shelves and half torn bean bag chairs. Cecil was waiting for him by the entrance. “Ok, so I think I located where the history section might be. Do you want to follow me?”

“Sure, I am here for your company after all dear Carlos.”

“Thanks again, for coming, I know you didn’t want to.”

Cecil shrugged, “How could I pass up a chance to spend time with my favorite outsider? You could have picked a more romantic location though,” Cecil added with a bit of a huff. They walked together towards the back of the building, “I mean I know you love knowledge, and hey, I like knowledge too, but the library? Carlos surely you could have thought of a little better of a place?”

“Cecil for the last time, this isn’t a date.”

“I can dream can’t I?” He paused for a second, “Yeah, I can, that’s not illegal yet.” Carlos didn’t know whether to laugh at that or admit that it was rather sad.

Both men were startled when a voice sounded from behind them, “Be quiet dearies, you’re in a library.”

“Excuse us, we’re sorry,” Carlos apologized immediately. There was a little old lady, near in height to Josie, fixing books on a shelf. She stepped out into the less dim light of the hall and Carlos noticed Cecil freeze beside him.

Cecil grabbed Carlos’s hand and led him away quickly. “Don’t look back,” he growled under his breath.

“N-No way,” Carlos whispered back, “that was a librarian? The horrible monsters you go and on about? Needing steel cages and titanium chains or whatever?”

“Yes,” Cecil answered.

“But it was just an old lady.”

“I don’t know what you saw, but I saw nothing.”

“You’re blind of course you saw noth-“

“I saw nothing Carlos, and that should be warning enough.” Cecil dropped the subject and instructed Carlos to keep his voice lower than he had kept it. “They know we’re here, keep your head down, be quiet and get your books.”

The other male swallowed deep and quickened his pace to the history section. “Do librarians normally just come out and attack?”

“No, not typically, you have to be caught doing something pretty bad, or wander in when they are hungry.” Cecil swung his cane back and forth, focusing all of his energy into his other senses. His hearing was sharp, but he could make it sharper, he needed to make it sharper, especially since Carlos seemed so oblivious to the dangers around him. It was actually a miracle that Carlos had stayed alive for so long in Night Vale, especially with his seemingly low sense of self preservation.

History in Night Vale was apparently as threadbare as Carlos had feared. The section was a few shelves of about forty or so odd books. Quickly he grabbed the largest leather bound book he could find. It said History of the Earth and Other Creation Myths. He shelved it and reached for another one. This one looked more promising with a title of Night Vale Historical Society: The Truth Beyond the Bluffs. He slid that book into a backpack he was carrying and moved to another shelf.

Alertness was hard to maintain when you were in total darkness. Cecil could see the blue of Carlos off to his side. “I’m going to take a look around,” he whispered to Carlos. “I’ll only be a few stacks over.” His words fell on deaf ears for Carlos was too engrossed in the few books he was able to uncover.

Cecil’s fingers grazed over the nameplates that hung loosely on each isle. Luckily braille was used for a long time in Night Vale for all signage so there were plenty of places that still used it. Each row was marked according to what books may be contained within its darkened halls. Cecil passed by architecture, general fiction, non-fiction, how to, before stopping at romance. He smiled briefly and thought to himself, “Everyone has a guilty pleasure Cecil.”

Meanwhile Carlos was deeply enthralled by an ancient tome bound in the softest leather he had ever felt. The words on the pages were hand written, each page felt like cloth and the ink was fading in some places. He wasn’t even sure if some of this was even written in English or not. He pulled his bag from his back and placed the old book with the others. He reached for another one when a voice interrupted. “That book cannot be checked out.”

Fear spread across Carlos’s face for a split second before he looked up, there was another old woman, this one was taller and had a balding patch of hair on her head. “I’m terribly sorry, I’ll put it back right now,” but he did not. He stood and moved a little bit away.

“This whole section is off limits, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” The woman spoke again.

This time when Carlos met her eyes they weren’t eyes at all. Dark empty pits were where eyes should be. The librarian opened her mouth and Carlos watched in horror as another mouth emerged and shot out at him on a long tongue. The teeth met the fabric of his lab coat and grazed his skin, taking the top layer off and causing the scientist to stumble back. He screamed for Cecil and turned to run.

Carlos was trying his best to remember all the things Cecil had said about librarians and how to not get killed by them, but the only thing he could think of was the advice given over the radio to not climb up a tree. Which Carlos found pretty stupid and a waste of his own precious thoughts. Who would even think of climbing a tree in a building? His thinking was snapped away as he heard the wet sound of flesh being removed from bone and cartilage snapping.

He froze. “Cecil,” he thought. His mind raced and his head turned to look behind him. He feared the worst, that Cecil had come to his rescue only to be snatched up and eaten. What he saw was anything but that, but no less frightening. The form of the old lady had fallen away, leaving a being more like a praying mantis than a human. Skin slid down it’s legs and sharp claws replaced the digits of the hand. Carlos wasted no time in resuming running.

Cecil’s fingers were swiftly running across the pages of various magazines and books, the library had always kept a decent stock of reading impaired books, for which he was grateful. He already had a decent stack pulled away and a few in his arms. The section on setting the mood for the beginning of a date was particularly interesting. “Hmmm…so here it suggests starting your date with a good chant and blood stone circle offering, yes that seems fairly standard. I wonder what the thoughts on first date dinners are? Fresh or frozen? Perhaps eating out? Is that too fast?” He scanned the table of contents for a helpful article. 

Before he got the chance however, he heard Carlos’s beautiful voice cry out. Cecil cradled the books in one arm and grabbed his cane in the other. “Carlos?” He asked to the darkness. “Carlos? What’s going on?” He heard the inhuman shrieking of a librarian and the slick sound of flesh and blood hitting the floor. Before his stomach could drop he heard Carlos call again. “Carlos? I’m glad you’re not dead but we really should get out of here!” He turned his head in all directions trying to locate Carlos. Sounds were coming from the left so he moved to the right instead, he hoped the librarians would be too busy being distracted by wherever Carlos went to notice him making a break for it. Through the rows of books he spotted a flash of blue and his heart practically soared. “Carlos!” He called again.

The librarian was gaining on Carlos quite quickly. That’s when he heard another voice call back to him; this one wasn’t as calm and collected as it normally was. It was panicked and pitched a bit higher than normal. It was Cecil’s. “Cecil! Cecil I’m over here!” He waved his hands, not sure if that’d help anything.

Cecil was running parallel to Carlos when his cane suddenly came into contact with something. He skidded to a stop and briefly lost the ability to move when the thing he ran into spoke, “Oh my, no running in the library please.”

There was nothing he could see blocking his path, but the voice and sound of skin tearing was enough to send terror shooting down his spine. Carlos was watching Cecil through the gaps in the isles and he saw the other man run into a second librarian. He watched as Cecil froze, and as another approached him from the side. “Cecil!” He called out before making a split second decision and running towards the radio personality. He grabbed Cecil’s arm and tugged him away from the librarians and down a different section of books. “I don’t remember the library being this big last time!” He exclaimed, becoming slighting winded.

Cecil had regained his composure and shook off Carlos’s hand from his arm, “It isn’t, it only appears that way to give the hunted a sense of hopelessness. I also hear it’s something the new Applebee’s will have in their restrooms, as well as live bees around the tables.”

“Cecil not to be rude, but I really don’t care about that right now.” Carlos kept looking back to see if the librarians were still following them, they were, unfortunately, and they were gaining. “Cecil I don’t think we’re going to make it.”

“Nonsense, my brave, beautiful Carlos. You have the Voice of Night Vale with you.”

“Cecil you just do public radio, I fail to see how this can help us in any way.”

A chuckle was followed by Cecil who said, “Of course not, you are after all, just an outsider.” Carlos was confused, but being confused was a constant state for him now so he just went with whatever Cecil was saying, that was until Cecil stopped running and suggested the following. “Keep going, Cecil instructed. I’ll be fine.”

“C-Cecil what are you saying?” Carlos spun around and grabbed the crazy man’s arm again and pulled, “You’ll be torn apart, ripped from limb to limb. Cecil look at what one of those things did to my arm!”

“One of them hurt you?” Cecil asked, eye’s widening.

“Yes! Cecil that thing is over seven feet tall and has two mouths.”

“Only two? I’m unimpressed,” Cecil stood his ground, refusing to run with Carlos. “Listen to me, dear, sweet, Carlos. You have to trust me and take some things in life on faith. You may not understand now, nor ever, but you have to trust me. I’ll be fine.”

“You are officially out of your mind!”

“Keep running for the door, I’ll hold them off. It should only take me five minutes, at the most.”

Before Carlos could argue further Cecil shoved him and yelled for him to get moving. Without looking back Carlos made a break for the door. He ignored the shrieking and screams coming from deeper in the library. His hands touched the door and he pushed through into the blinding sunlight. A loud boom sounded across the silent parking lot as the doors swung shut, suddenly sounding a lot heavier than before. Carlos turned back around to face the library, he was panting and his heart threatened to make real on the threat to tear itself from his chest. “Cecil…” he murmured. “What the hell were you thinking?”

A few disgustingly tense moments passed, Carlos had started pacing outside the door and now found that he couldn’t stop. More than five minutes had passed, and Carlos experienced a sudden wave of nausea and regret for leaving Cecil behind. The thought occurred to him that perhaps Cecil thought of himself as a burden, and that by sacrificing himself he could give Carlos a fair chance at escaping. “Cecil no…”

He didn’t want to think about what had become of the radio host. Glumly he realized he’d have to go to the station and report his death. There was a sadness that surrounded Carlos, a sadness that could only be caused by the guilt of knowing that you were the direct cause of a death. “And for what?” Carlos whispered, “For a book? For knowledge?” He laughed bitterly and spit out, “A great man died today all because I couldn’t be satisfied with the unknown. Because I had to approach things as a scientist and not as a sane person.” He fell to one knee then both, “I’m so sorry.”

The wind picked up around Carlos and he looked up to the sky, noticing for once the void of space actually terrified him. So much actually terrified him, now that he thought about it. The library terrified him, little old ladies terrified him, and unleashed dog caused an unfair amount of panic to rise within him and the mention of City Council could send shivers down his spine. He realized he was afraid of the everyday normal. “This damn city, this fucking town, I shouldn’t be here. Nothing works how it should and everything can kill you.”

“That color really doesn’t suit you, Carlos.”

“C-Cecil?” Carlos didn’t even dare look up.

“And Night Vale isn’t that bad, every town has its faults. At least we’re not Desert Bluffs. I mean can you even imagine how terrible it must be to live there? It’s frightening, really.” The voice paused before asking, “Carlos?”

“You’re dead.”

A frown developed on Cecil’s face, curving his mouth downward. “Oh Carlos,” he took a few steps closer and knelt down to where he believed the scientist was, “I’m very much alive. Last time I checked a corporeal being could touch other corporeal beings.” He felt around for Carlos’s face, finding it he turned it so Carlos was looking at him fully. “And you even said yourself, ‘seeing is the best way to tell if something is in fact, real’ and, well; I look pretty real don’t I?”

Carlos didn’t want to, but he opened his eyes and took in all of Cecil. He was right; the man was very much real and tangible. “I…I don’t understand. You should be dead.”

“Station Management has too much invested in me to allow me to die,” Cecil answered vaguely. He wasn’t in perfect shape, he could feel blood trickling down his back and arm, and he thought he might have a rather large cut somewhere on his head, but those were all treatable injuries he could deal with back at the station.

“I thought you were dead…”

“I heard…” Cecil admitted. “And I’m truly sorry I worried you.” He stood and offered a hand to Carlos, “Come on, let’s get you back.”

Carlos accepted the hand and noticed that Cecil no longer had his cane, “Will you be ok without your cane?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, no problem,” he shrugged, “I don’t need it around Night Vale, I know this town like the Secret Police know your thermostat settings.”

He also noticed that Cecil was still clutching a few blood stained books, “What did you get?”

Cecil looked away, a faint blush spreading across his face, “Oh uh, you know, just some light reading.”

“Come on Cecil, out with it, you owe me something for making me worry like that.”

“But I did save you, so you owe me for that.”

“Cecil just tell me what you checked out.”

The other man sighed, looking defeated, “Romance advice books,” he said a little too fast. “There, I said it.”

Carlos laughed, “Cecil I highly doubt you need a book on such things.”

“How would you know? You haven’t been on a date with me, and you don’t know how any of my past relationships have gone! I could be the absolute worst, which is why I’m not taking any chances,” he concluded and hugged the books tight to his chest.

“Well then, I think I’ll take that risk. Are you perhaps free tomorrow evening?”

\---

“Oh listeners, I have the most joyous news. The happiest of news, the best of things to tell you. Oh but uh first, the weather.”

\---

It was a calm evening, much to Carlos’s surprise and joy. He decided to ditch the lab coat in favor of something less restricting and professional looking. He figured an old shirt from his college days would do just fine. Cecil on the other hand…well Carlos had no idea what to think of his outfit when he came strolling up to meet him. Usually Cecil is very well dressed…but it appears today he had other ideas.

He found it amusing the way Cecil fidgeted and held out a half wilted flower, “I uh, here,” it was a pleasant surprise to hear the normally strong and confident voice on the radio splutter and stutter.

“Thank you Cecil, it’s very lovely,” he took the flower, a white cactus bloom of some sort.

“The flower lady, she said it would go well with your hair, and I had to believe her, she does know her flowers…” Cecil trailed off already embarrassed for himself.

Carlos snuck his hand around Cecil’s and squeezed, “It’s perfect.”

Later that evening, after dinner Carlos was listening to Cecil talk. They were situated in Mission Grove Park on a blanket looking up at the stars and void. “And then Old Woman Josie tells me that her angel friends took her salt yet again for some holy mission. Can you believe that? Well…maybe you shouldn’t, as City Council swears up and down that angels don’t exist. I know I’ve never seen one.”

“Cecil?”

“Yes beautiful Carlos?”

He sat up a bit and looked down at Cecil who was unaware of his gaze, “How do you know I’m beautiful? How can you say all those things about me? When you…”

“When I can’t see you?” Cecil finished. “While it’s true I can’t see you, or Old Woman Josie, or her angel friends, or the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, I can see. I can see people for who they are, their personality I guess. It’s hard to explain.”

Carlos asked, “Can you try?”

“Uh,” Cecil faltered, “Yeah, I can…I think I see who people really are, intern Erin for example. She is always bright and cheerful, a pleasant yellow that turns to orange when flustered or excited. Old Woman Josie is a soft peach, and ugly Steve Carlsberg is a detestable moldy green and brown. It only works on people though, not so much with dogs, or cats, or other animals. Plants for that matter too, or buildings. But people, I can see them.” He added quieter, “And when I first saw you, well. I’ve never seen such an amazingly brilliant shade of blue. I swear my heart stopped dead in my chest.”

“But…but that first day, you said all those things about my hair, my teeth…how could you say such things if you didn’t actually know?”

“I assumed that someone with such a pleasant and amazing inner hue must be as beautiful and perfect on the outside as well. I did hear from a few of my interns that I hit the nail on the head though.” He laughed and sat up. Gently he placed a hand on Carlos’s face. He felt around from the top of his wavy hair down to the strong jaw and thin layer of stubble. “You certainly feel perfect.”

Carlos smiled, and gently leaned in to kiss Cecil. “You feel perfect too.”


End file.
